“Brandon James … there are certain things that we expect of you on the field and off the field and he did not fulfill his obligation this week and he did not play,” said Meyer, who did said that James will play next week.

“We don’t care if we’re in the championship game or not, we don’t like them,” he said. “We hate them. It doesn’t matter if we’re both 10-0 right now. It’s still going to be a heated battle and we’re going to hate each other after the game.”

He’s also heard all the whispers from Tallahassee and he’s read the message boards. The Seminoles want to first of all win the game, but secondly, they want to force Florida quarterback Tim Tebow into such a bad game that he won’t win the Heisman Trophy.

“That’s what everybody says,” he said. “Everybody says they want a little piece of Tebow and they’re going to stop him from winning it [the Heisman] but he keeps making plays every week and proving them wrong. That’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to block for him and we’re going to make the plays and do whatever we can to make him win the Heisman.

“It has nothing to do with them. It’s about what we do. He’s going to have a big game, put up some big numbers and seal the case for a Heisman.”

Meanwhile, on the Florida sideline, Spurrier was drawing up a new play on the back of his laminated play sheet.

"He didn't even have a name for it," Johnson said. "It was a deep route of some sort. When we got on the field (to start the ensuing drive) I asked everyone, 'Does everybody know what they're doing?' I think two of the three receivers didn't have a clue, and Jacquez Green was one of them."

By the time the Gators lined up, the play clock was down to about 10 seconds. Instead of calling a timeout, Johnson quickly scanned the FSU defensive formation and gave Green the signal to run a hitch-and-go.

FSU cornerback Samari Rolle bit on the hitch and Green cut deep, where Johnson found him wide open along the right sideline. Green made the catch and then weaved his way across the field for a 63-yard gain that put the Gators on the FSU 17. On the next play, Taylor broke free on the left side for a 16-yard gain to the 1. On the play after that, Taylor bulled up the middle for touchdown to give Florida a 32-29 lead.